Survey: Biz upbeat about state

• Gov. Rick Snyder led a roster of officeholders and candidates with a favorable rating by 70 percent. He was followed by Republican Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land, who is running for the U.S. Senate, at 42 percent; President Barack Obama, 41 percent; Democratic U.S. Rep. Gary Peters, also a U.S. Senate candidate, at 31 percent; and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mark Schauer, 14 percent.

• Obama led the pack in unfavorable opinion at 52 percent, with Peters at 35 percent, Snyder and Schauer at 25 percent each, and Land at 20 percent.v• 32 percent of those polled did not know who Schauer was, followed by Land at 14 percent and Peters at 9 percent.

• 64 percent believe Obama is doing a poor job as president, with 35 percent approving of his performance.

Businesspeople in Southeast Michigan continue to remain optimistic about the state's economy, believing it has already hit bottom, is now in recovery and will continue as such for the rest of the year.

A survey commissioned by Crain's Detroit Business and Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP and conducted by Lansing-based Epic-MRA found that 70 percent were satisfied with the condition of Michigan's economy. There were 29 percent signaling they were dissatisfied.

The random survey of 300 business owners, operators, officers or managers in Southeast Michigan was conducted April 22-28 to gauge reaction on the economy and other issues. The survey has an error margin of plus or minus 5.7 percentage points.

Over the next six months, 76 percent said the outlook for their businesses is good, with 24 percent indicating "very good." Just 12 percent said their business outlook was bad.

Rudy Vuckov, owner of Esoteric Enterprises LLC, a Royal-Oak-based software development company, was one of those who said his business' outlook was very good.

Much of the interest in his company's services has come from the banking, insurance and automotive industries, he said, as well as state government.

He said he is receiving calls from larger companies who are now looking to expand and want his help, and this tells him that things are turning around and is why his business outlook is so positive.

"Businesses don't want to invest unless things are going great," he said. "Unless they are making money, they aren't spending money."

The vast majority -- 81 percent -- of those polled felt the state's economy has already bottomed out and is starting to improve. That was the same percentage when the same question was asked in November.

John Cavanagh, co-founder of EPIC-MRA, said he was not surprised by the figure staying the same as there has not been any major economic news or changes in conditions that would shake confidence in the past six months.

Just 6 percent said the state economy has not bottomed out and will get worse.

The most common reason given for those who had a positive outlook was that sales and customers were increasing, as well an overall improving state economy.

Those who had a negative outlook most often cited the opposite, a poor economy, and a lack of customers.

Harvey Rabinowitz, president of West Bloomfield-based Media...Period, a media planning and buying service, was among those who was only somewhat satisfied with the state economy as it related to his business.

He said the economy is not great, but it has been worse. He said he's not sure what it is that is holding things back.

"There is a fundamental fear that exists that this is short-term, that the bottom could fall out at any minute," he said.

Robert O'Neill, CFO of Shelby Township-based Spec Technologies Inc., a manufacturer of fixtures and equipment for the automotive industry, said for his business, there has definitely been a recovery from the "08-'09 recession.

He said some of Snyder's changes in tax policy, including the move from the Michigan Business Tax to the corporate income tax, have helped.

O'Neill said he would support Snyder's re-election, because four years isn't enough for anyone to get such a big job done. Snyder has done well in his first term, he said, and has not given voters a good reason why he doesn't deserve another term.

"I believe Snyder has made some people upset, but there isn't a good leader that hasn't," he said. "There's a reason why people at the top don't have a lot of friends. In five years from now, if things are good, people won't give a darn."

According to the survey, the majority held the same view as O'Neill, with 59 percent saying they would vote for Snyder, while 25 percent said they would vote for his opponent this November, former U.S. Rep. Mark Schauer, D-Battle Creek.

The poll also showed that 70 percent of respondents had a favorable opinion of Snyder, compared to 14 percent for Schauer. The one-term congressman and former state Senate minority leader also suffered from 32 percent of respondents having never heard his name. Everyone polled had heard of Snyder.

Cavanagh said the percentage of the business community in this poll that was unfamiliar with Schauer's name tracks closely with polls done of the general public.

He said it is surprising that Schauer is not yet on the air with ads to increase name identification.

Jody Kuhn, owner of Bingham Farms-based Kuhn & Associates, a small accounting firm, said she would support Snyder's re-election.

"I prefer a bean counter, and our governor is one and he balanced the budget," she said.

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